Romney Says His Plan Will Create Jobs 'Right Away'

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Tuesday his jobs plan will not only put “Americans back to work right away,” but will create long-term employment and make sure the unemployed who have suffered under the Obama administration return to “the middle class again.”

“If I’m president — on day one — I’ve got five bills to put in place within 30 days and I’ve got five new executive orders that’ll get this economy working again,” the former Massachusetts governor told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.

“I’m not just looking at the immediate — what happens in the next 30 days — but rather what happens over the next 30 years,” Romney said. “I want America to lead the world in innovation, in new jobs, in the highest income for middle-income Americans — middle-income Americans have really had a tough time in this Obama economy — we got to do our best to get these folks back to work, get their incomes rising, and to make sure the squeeze they’re feeling ends and that it’s good to be in the middle class again.”

Van Susteren asked Romney realistically how quickly could he reduce unemployment and create meaningful employment for the millions of Americans who are unemployed or underemployed.

“Well, the plan that I put together — we’ve gone through an analyzed what impact it’ll have,” Romney said. “And it’s 59 different action steps — it’s not just one or two silver bullets — it’s 59 steps. The plan I put in place will create growth in the economy of 4 percent per year over the next four years and it will create 11.5 million jobs — so that’s putting Americans back to work right away.

“It’s going to do a terrific job at improving our incomes, getting America energy-independent, and making sure that we remain the nation that is the number one job creator in the world — that’s what we've got to do,” he said. “And help people — middle-income Americans that are really struggling right now, those that are out of work in particular, but those that have work, as well, are facing really tough times. So we got to do a better job helping out, and that’s what my 59-step plan does.”

Romney said he also plans to reform the nation’s tax and regulatory structures among other changes to make government more business-friendly.

“I also change, of course, the regulatory structure that this president has put in place. I change dramatically our energy policies, our trade policies,” he said. “We’ve got to open up markets for American goods — and we got to clamp down on China that cheats on our trade agreements.

“Look, we’re going to have to get serious about the challenges we face and not just play at the edges. This president really has a — I call it a ‘pay phone strategy for a smartphone world.’ He’s locked in the technology of the past and the economy of the past,” Romney continued. “He’s trying to stuff quarters into a pay phone — that pay phone isn’t connected anymore — we got smartphones. We have to have an economic strategy which is modern, updated, structured for the new economy.”

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Tuesday his jobs plan will not only put Americans back to work right away, but will create long-term employment and make sure the unemployed who have suffered under the Obama administration return to the middle class again.
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